Since KDE 4.3 has been released, various reviews have appeared
on the web. The DOT had a look at some of them.
Polishlinux once
again offers an extensive review with many screenshots showing what is new in
KDE 4.3. According to Korneliusz Jarzębski,"Finally the day has come, when the
curiosity about the KDE4.3 development branch took the better of me.".
The result:
Polishlinux
likes the new Air
"Like it or not, KDE 4.3 will be a great
leap forward in this environment’s development. I won’t hesitate to say,
it will be a bigger one than KDE 4.1 to 4.2. Interestingly enough, my
compilation of development snapshot worked stable and jerk-free - no
major issues there."
SoftVision from Terminal Variant shares his vision on "Caizen"noting
how "Even with a new direction however, the KDE developers have shown
that they are aware of the users’ needs."He gives a special thumbs
up to the KDE Games team:
"Now I’ve got to hand it to the KDE
games team for this unique idea. There’s no better way to show off the
theming capability of the KDE games module than a special theme for the
next release – an Egyptian theme."
The improvements in the
4.3 release amaze and even scare this writer:
"If you look at
the amount of effort being put in, its quite scary I think. The
potential is pretty much infinite in all aspects be it bringing the Web
to the desktop, window management and more. There’s so much that can
still be done and I’m sure the ideas will keep flowing and be
implemented over time. Nepomuk, Akonadi and Phonon – these technologies
all have so much potential and we’ve just started to see it in
applications like Dolphin, KDE PIM, Gwenview, etc. KDE 4.4 should take
it to the next level and it will be another six months till then. But
it’ll be worth the wait. To infinity, and beyond!"
Ars Technica's Ryan Paul focuses
in his review on the Social Desktop integration.
"KDE 4.3 was released
this week with a number of intriguing improvements. Ars test the new
version, which introduces KDE's Social Desktop initiative, an effort to
bring social networking integration to the popular desktop environment."
"One
of the fundamental ideas behind the Social Desktop effort is to
facilitate community-building by providing a vehicle for connecting open
source software enthusiasts to each other. It can be used to help
inform others about Linux user group meetings, release parties, and
similar events. It can also help you find fellow Linux enthusiasts in
your region. Another important motivator behind the project is the need
to simplify the process of providing community-based software support
for new users. The OCS knowledge base framework, for example, allows
users to ask questions about open source software and get answers from
other members of the community."
Bruce Byfield writes on LinuxPlanet about "Bling, Widgets, Security,
Usability" and appreciates the more incremental nature of this
release:
"However, the move to incremental releases is perhaps
inevitable. Many users have yet to absorb the possibilities of features
like multiple folder views and activities, so a release that consists of
smaller enhancements only seems suitable. If the KDE 4.3 beta contains
nothing earth-shattering, it still includes dozens of improvements that,
although not necessary, are still very welcome."
"As an
enthusiastic KDE 4.2 user, I look forward to the final 4.3 release, and
expect it to improve my everyday computing in all sorts of minor ways --
mostly by offering me more choice."
And 'Cyber Cynic' Steven J.
Vaughan-Nichols considers the KDE 4.3 release a "change for the
better" in his article A first look at KDE 4.3:
"What really struck me
about this release aren't any of the new features. Instead, it was the
improvement in its overall performance and looks that caught my
attention."
Besides these reviews you can find buzz surrounding KDE all around the
web. Even the more cynical begin to see and appreciate the vision
behind the KDE 4 series. Our community, from developers to artists to
those members helping out fellow users on IRC or forums, has reason to
be proud on the accomplishment which is KDE 4.3. As SoftVision said, "To infinity, and beyond!"
